Game day brings crowds, excitement

MINNEAPOLIS – The rain held off and the sun came out for a beautiful night at Target Field, as tens of thousands of fans enjoyed the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Minneapolis since 1985.

"This is bucket list thing for me," said Margaret Snyder of Sauk Rapids. "It's great," added her husband John as they walked into the stadium.

From husband and wife, to father and son, this was a night that many wanted to last forever.

"This is once and a lifetime kind of thing," said Seattle Mariners fan Brent Pakkala who brought his 9-year-old son Luke to the game.

All-Star Game ticket
(Photo: KARE)

For those who didn't have a ticket, just being close to Target Field was good enough.

"Something like this is great for the city, but also great memories. This is something nice," said Nate Lane, of Minneapolis.

He brought his 2-year-old son Wyatt to get a picture with the Rod Carew statute outside of the stadium. Lane wasn't alone. A lot of fans who did not have tickets came downtown just to be close to the action.

"It's just a great atmosphere down here," said Paul Berg, a Twin Cities resident who met some of his friends at Kieran's Irish Pub. "I think it's great. The whole block party and that."

He, along with throngs of others spent the evening at Kieran's across the street from Target Field.

"This is bigger than an average Tuesday night," said Joe Petzel with Kieran's Irish Pub.

The pub was one of several bars who got an extension from the city to stay open until 4 a.m.

"The opportunity to extend bar closing time by a few hours is an opportunity hopefully we'll be able to take advantage of," he said. "It's an opportunity to really be a part of the international experience that you don't get very often."

"It's amazing, how great it is for the economy in the area," added Pakkala who is from Sauk Rapids but grew up in Washington.

He said going to the game was a special moment to share with his young son.

"You never get to replay this moment," he said.

But chances are many will try, at least in their minds, whether they had a ticket or not.

"It's nice to be out in the open air. Great night for it," said Dave Gilson who traveled from Milwaukee to go the game.